News

Nov 05, 2024

Valley News - Upper Valley climbing enthusiasts greet newly opened climbing gym

Josh Whipple, of Lebanon, climbs on the bouldering section of The Notch Climbing Gym in Lebanon, N.H., on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, after opening in Lebanon, N.H., last Friday. Whipple said he has had to

Josh Whipple, of Lebanon, climbs on the bouldering section of The Notch Climbing Gym in Lebanon, N.H., on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, after opening in Lebanon, N.H., last Friday. Whipple said he has had to drive to Concord to climb in a gym for the last three years, and now he can stop in after work. "I don't see how they won't succeed," he said. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Valley News photographs – James M. Patterson

Stephen Drew, of Strafford, talks over a route with his daughter Ruby Cunningham-Drew, 7, at The Notch Climbing Gym in Lebanon, N.H., on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. The gym opened last Friday. (Valley News - James M. Patterson)

Noah Lynd, of Meriden, who co-owns The Notch Climbing Gym with Josh Garrison, tightens a hold on the gym's bouldering wall in Lebanon, N.H., on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. The gym, which features 45 foot walls for top-roping and lead climbing, a bouldering section, yoga studio, traditional gym equipment and a kids area, opened last Friday after 11 months of construction and preparation. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Valley News — James M. Patterson

By CLARE SHANAHAN

Valley News Staff Writer

LEBANON — On Monday, Sam Harper and Sara Burgess, who both live in Lebanon, spent the afternoon alternating between working in The Notch climbing gym’s work area and “playing” on the climbing walls.

Both said they have so far enjoyed the climbing and the facility, which sits on LaBombard Road near Dartmouth Coach and held a rope-cutting opening ceremony Friday.

“It’s a major upgrade from what the Upper Valley used to have,” Burgess said, referring to the now-closed Green Mountain Rock Climbing Center in Quechee.

Since the Quechee gym closed, climbers have had to travel to Rutland and Concord for indoor climbing facilities.

Burgess, who works from home, said she plans to work at The Notch regularly, at least “until people start figuring out that it’s a good place to work.”

“I think a lot of people in this area have been watching this project for years and waiting,” Burgess said.

The 13,000-square-foot facility is light and colorful, with over 100 roped climbing courses featuring neon-colored holds — the faux-rocks that define the climbing course. Each individual route is color coded to distinguish it from the next, with the towering walls reaching to a 45-foot high ceiling.

On the gym’s other side is a large bouldering area for climbing without ropes, also dotted with the neon holds in an array of shapes. Upstairs, there is a cardio gym, a kids climbing wall, a yoga studio and a small area with tables and chairs. The gym will offer open rock climbing, a mix of youth and adult climbing classes, competitive climbing programs and yoga classes.

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“At times it has been so busy we could have even built a bigger space,” co-founder Noah Lynd said Monday about the gym’s first few days.

Lynd lives in Meriden and graduated from Lebanon High School in 2007. He met the gym’s co-founder Josh Garrison and got into climbing while they were both teaching in Connecticut. Both have since relocated to the Upper Valley.

They began discussing opening a climbing gym in the Upper Valley in March 2020, when they were on a climbing trip together in Utah. The pandemic delayed their plans, but they purchased the property that now holds the gym for about $1 million in 2022. They officially broke ground last January.

Community enthusiasm and support for the facility was clear even before Friday’s grand opening.

In August, The Notch offered a limited number of pre-opening membership slots at a 20% discount of $912 for one adult. A full-priced adult membership costs $95 per month.

The discounted memberships sold out in only a few hours, according to Lynd, who declined to say how many were available. Because of the high demand, the Notch held another pre-opening membership sale in September. In the second round, memberships sold out in 12 minutes.

“We’re just really happy that so many people are interested in coming to the gym,” Lynd said.

Harper and Burgess purchased memberships during one of the pre-opening sales.

While Burgess is fairly new to climbing, Harper has been climbing “hard core” since 2015 and started outdoor rope climbing during the COVID-19 pandemic when all of the climbing gyms were closed. He described The Notch as “the perfect size for the area.”

During Friday’s opening day, the gym “might have been as busy as it gets and it didn’t feel crowded,” Harper said.

While The Notch’s co-owners have big plans for the facility, Lynd emphasized that his biggest goal is to create a welcoming space to grow a climbing community in the Upper Valley. “I am most excited about sharing this space that we’ve thought so much about and worked so hard on with other people who are going to enjoy using it and work to nurture and develop it, but also observe a community forming and growing and using this space as a gathering place,” Lynd said.

The Notch plans to host competitive and non-competitive youth climbing teams in addition to an after school climbing program, a home school climbing team and sponsoring competitive climbing programs in collaboration with area schools and recreation departments.

The Lebanon Department of Arts, Parks and Recreation will start practices for its youth climbing team at The Notch Nov. 18.

The “Wallcrawlers,” Lebanon Middle School’s climbing program sponsored by the Recreation Department, was growing until the start of the pandemic, when it paused and was unable to resume after the Quechee climbing center closed.

“We’re actually in a whole new group of climbers. Many of the kids who did it prior to COVID are in high school and maybe in their junior or senior years,” Lebanon Arts, Parks and Recreation Program Coordinator Kristine Flythe said.

The Lebanon Recreation Department has been discussing the program with The Notch since the gym was in planning phases and it started officially advertising the team in September, Flythe said. The department expected a small amount of interest and a team of five or so students, but there are now 14 “Wallcrawlers” team members, with six on the waiting list.

Flythe and Paul Coats, the department’s director, will be switching off as coaches.

While she has never climbed competitively, Flythe said she enjoys rock climbing and “I understand enough to get the kids off the ground literally and figuratively.”

The Notch is open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with weekday mornings limited to members only. On Tuesdays, members-only hours begin at 5:30 a.m.

Clare Shanahan can be reached at [email protected] or 603-727-3216.